Having just gone through the land buying experience, I'm not sure I'd agree that things are staying in check in Christchurch. Prior to getting the land I ended up buying, I looked at a property in Swannanoa. The property had recently been valued at around $650k but ended up selling for just over $1mil.
I also looked at land in Rolleston, Halswell and Lincoln. All sections in those locations were going for at least $400k when just 12 months ago similar land in the same locations were going for under $200k. Where I ended up buying, similar sized sections in a previous stage had sold for early $200s and we ended up paying in the early $300s.
To me it seems like the Christchurch market is heating up.